I don’t know about you, but I’ve mostly taught students that were enrolled in chemistry by the guidance department against their will. I mean that’s dramatic, but most of my students weren’t interested in chemistry to begin with and took the class because “an adult made them.” Keeping these students engaged in chemistry can be a challenge. But the right engaging chemistry activities can transform your classroom into an exciting and interactive learning space. Much unlike Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. (A movie I play for my students whenever time allows!) These activities can be used to make your class a place students want to be! They’ll say things like “Mrs. Reavy, your class is so fun, but I don’t like chemistry.” Ya know what? I’ll take it!
1. Pixel Art Chemistry Activities
Turn problem-solving into a game! With pixel art activities, students answer chemistry questions in Google Sheets and watch a hidden image reveal itself as they get correct answers. They’re immediately told if their answers are correct or incorrect. That makes these activities perfect for self-checking practice. They bring a sense of accomplishment to learning. I post these in Google Classroom and have my students erase them and redo them to study for their tests. Check out the full collection here.
2. Link & Solve Puzzles
These hybrid worksheets are tons of fun! The unique format connects each answer to the next question, making problem-solving feel like part of a puzzle. Students must think critically and work step by step being careful to watch decimals places and ensure accuracy. I’ve created Google Sheets that go along with the printables. Students can input their answers and check to see how they’re doing. This way they don’t finish an entire worksheet with an earlier incorrect answer. Because that’s a nightmare for everyone involved. Check out the collection of Link & Solve activities here.
3. Holiday and Seasonal Activity Packs
If you’re looking to bring festive fun into your classroom during a particular time of year, try a holiday-themed chemistry activity pack. These are designed to keep students engaged in learning chemistry, even on the crazy days before holidays and school breaks. You can check out the collection of holiday packs here.
Holiday and seasonal activity packs are great for special occasions, but you also need engaging chemistry activities that work year-round.
4. Card Sorts for Chemistry Concepts
I find that chemistry has a lot of “this or that” concepts. Soluble or Insoluble? Ionic or Covalent? Acid or Base? Card sorts are perfect for interactive review and differentiation. Students can work with physical cards to put them into categories, (or assign it digitally in Google Slides.) Make a class set of the cards and use them over and over again. Or you can print out individual sets and send students home with them in paper envelopes they’ve glued into their interactive notebooks. Check out the collection of card sorts here. If you’re interested in trying one out, try Atom or Ion for free.
5. Quick Practice Worksheets
When I created my Guided Notes Curriculum, the most common request from teachers was corresponding worksheets. Teachers are reporting using them as bell ringers, classwork, or homework. I love that there’s a quick way to let students work with the things they’ve learned in a classic way. Sometimes, the extra practice in a simple, structured format is exactly what students need. (Not everything needs to be playing music and have flashing lights!) These worksheets are designed to reinforce key chemistry skills without overwhelming students or taking up too much class time. There’s a sheet for each lesson of the curriculum, but you can just grab those worksheets here.
6. Secret Puzzle Challenges
There are just a few of these available on TPT, but plenty in my teacher stash that I need to polish. The idea is that students are presented with multiple choice questions in Google Slides. Each answer is paired with a puzzle piece. The students take the piece that is aligned with the answer they’ve chose and they bring it to the puzzle board. As they build the puzzle, they are figuring out if their answers make sense. Because correct answers will build a good looking picture. And wrong answers make the puzzle look weird. This gamified approach adds an element of mystery and motivates students to complete their work with accuracy.
7. Mystery-Themed Chemistry Activities
Speaking of mystery, who doesn’t love a good mystery? I love these activities so much – they might just be my favorite. Plus they’re fun to create! There’s a group of 36 students that may or may not have committed a crime. You can assign the students in the activity to your students in your classroom so there’s a bit of role playing. As students answer chemistry questions they uncover clues about the culprit to this crime. They can narrow down the suspects based on information about them, like their birthday, and how they get to school each day. Check out the mystery collection here.
8. Chemistry Quest Adventures
These are a lot of fun and get your students moving around the classroom. Each activity has an adventure theme! With quest-based activities, students solve chemistry problems to progress through a storyline. They start with a question and look for the answer posted in the classroom. Once they find that answer, they get the next question. They follow this trail of question and answers through your classroom. I find that these are great for days that I’m just not feeling great. The kids are actively learning and it doesn’t take much on my part to make that happen. These engaging chemistry activities are also perfect for review days or to reinforce concepts in an immersive and engaging way.
9. Vocabulary Activities for Chemistry Terms
Understanding chemistry vocabulary is key to student success. It’s why I’m a “mean teacher” and make my students write vocabulary terms fo reach unit. But I don’t have them waste that brain space. We do a matching quiz for each unit and there’s plenty of activities to sprinkle into the unit. Such as joke puzzles, crosswords, term-definition dominoes and a collaborative review games—help students master complex terms in an engaging and memorable way. I’ve got a vocabulary pack for each unit of my curriculum.
10. Labs That Promote Hands-On Learning
Nothing beats hands-on learning! Labs give students the opportunity to apply chemistry concepts in real-world scenarios, encouraging curiosity and scientific thinking. Structured and guided labs make experiments accessible and manageable for all students. My first few years teaching I was working out of an old art classroom turned “chemistry lab.” I barely had anything to work with. For that reason, my lab activities are pretty low maintenance in terms of teacher set up and materials. But they are highly rigorous. You can get all 41 of my labs in a lab manual here, or you can shop individual labs instead. If you want to read more about how I add rigor to my simple labs, check out this post.
Final Thoughts
Engagement is key to helping students succeed in chemistry. By incorporating these engaging chemistry activities into your lessons, you can create a more interactive, exciting classroom that keeps students motivated and eager to learn. If you’re interested in what I use on a given day in my chemistry class, you should check out the Chemistry Curriculum Outline. At the end of the document is my Day-by-Day outline that shows when I use each activity in my classroom.
